First GOP House member says he supports impeaching Trump

Republican Rep. John Katko of New York said in a statement Tuesday afternoon he will vote to impeach President Donald Trump, becoming the first Republican to sign on to the Democrats’ effort to hold the President accountable for his role in spurring on his supporters in last week’s storming of the US Capitol.

“To allow the President of the United States to incite this attack without consequence is a direct threat to the future of our democracy. For that reason, I cannot sit by without taking action. I will vote to impeach this President,” he said in a statement he tweeted.

Moments after Katko said he supported impeachment, Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking GOP leader, said in a statement she would also support impeaching the President, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, another Republican, also tweeted he supported it.

House Democrats are now moving rapidly toward impeaching Trump for a second time as a result of the Capitol insurrection, which Trump incited after repeatedly making false claims that the election had been stolen from him.

While the vast majority of House Republicans are expected to oppose the article of impeachment on Wednesday, there are expectations there could be as many as 10 — maybe more, maybe less — breaking ranks, according to House GOP aides.

The House plans to vote Wednesday on one article of impeachment against Trump. The House will first vote on a measure Tuesday evening urging Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from power, which could signal how many Republicans will back impeachment.

This story has been updated with additional developments Tuesday.